Electric cars, classroom repairs and more

Tesla Model S another Edsel in the making

In response to “Obama’s electric-car fantasy a mistake” (Opinion, Feb. 13): I am a little confused. Tesla Motors is making a $101,000 electric car with $465 million of federal guaranteed loans and tax incentives for buyers.

So tax revenue is used to design, build and sell a car that retails for $101K which only the “1 percenters” can afford and additionally giving them tax incentives to buy the vehicle which they don’t need because they are rich. The NY Times writer has written about serious battery issues. Even if there were no battery issues and the car was perfect, how does this help the middle class in America? Is this another Solyndra in the making? – Dean Barad, San Diego
Face the heat

In response to “2,000 S.D. schools classrooms to get air conditioning” (Local, Feb. 13): As a student from a SDUSD I have experienced the excessive heat before. It is not the best feeling, it causes students to get distracted and complain instead of paying attention to the lesson plan that is being taught. Most students would agree that although air conditioning sounds like a great idea to help deal with the hot weather, we would find it useless in the long run. I feel like the money could go to something more useful, preferably toward school programs; however, the money is a bond proposition that enables SDUSD to “ maintain safe and productive learning environments for students.”

I would rather face the heat instead of wasting the money by installing air conditioning to only 2,000 classrooms that meet the criteria. – Karol Rivera, Morse High School
Obama and guns

A recent book, explaining to financial collapse of 2008, introduced us to the “black swan” fallacy – because people had never seen a black swan, they were sure there couldn’t be one; because they had never experienced the collapse of housing prices, they were sure it couldn’t happen. The “black swan” was impossible – until one alighted on somebody’s pond, until the housing bubble triggered financial catastrophe.

For years, Americans have been assured that even minimal gun regulation in this country is impossible: the NRA is too powerful, our congressmen too fearful, the people won’t support it, etc., etc. Like the black swan, impossible, forget it.

But watching the State of the Union address, seeing all those green and black-and-white ribbons, seeing the gun victims and the families of gun victims actually in the House of Representatives, hearing the president’s voice as it rang out: “They deserve a vote!” I began to believe that this may be the year that the “impossible” black swan – sensible, meaningful, at least minimal gun regulation – finally takes wing across the American sky. – Ron Bonn, Tierrasanta

Highs and lows

How can our pro-choice Democratic lawmakers (the high scorers) be so humane when it comes to animals (“Humane Society ranks actions of lawmakers,” Local, Feb. 12) and so inhumane toward the human being in the womb? – John P. Schatz, San Diego
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